All posts tagged "todd blanche"

GOP has 'shameful and cowardly' plan for Todd Blanche to leave hearing untouched: analysts

Political analysts warned that Republicans have a plan to move Todd Blanche through his upcoming confirmation hearing untouched.

During an interview on Morning Shots, conservative analyst Bill Kristol and journalist Ben Parker broke down the mechanics of the two-day Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which will decide whether to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination for the permanent role of Trump's attorney general.

Despite the time senators will have to confront Blanche on a slew of topics, including the Department of Justice's anti-weaponization fund and the Epstein files, Parker and Kristol predicted that Republicans will try to limit the amount of time that goes toward hitting Blanche with tough questions.

Blanche will face "the least amount of overall questioning for a major cabinet or at least for an attorney general nominee that anyone can remember," Parker said, adding that "each senator gets 10 minutes, which means that they ask one question and Blanche drones on in generalities and platitudes for 10 minutes and then gets off scot-free."

Parker described it as "really depressing, and it shows you the Republicans know they're doing something unpopular. And their solution isn't to do something more popular. The solution is 'Let's just kind of try to hide it.' It's really shameful and cowardly."

Kristol pointed out that Blanche has been the deputy AG and then the acting AG for about a year and a half, and that he doesn't even need to drone on to hide much of his record.

"He's got a big record, and so just in terms of responsibly letting him defend what he's done, asking questions, raising things he's said, raising things from court cases where he's been rebuked by judges and so forth, let him respond, that takes more than the amount of time they're allocating," Kristol said. "So even if he doesn't drone on, even if senators succeed in interrupting him and making him answer a little bit, it's just not enough time."

Expert reveals 'cardinal sin' Todd Blanche committed that could kneecap his confirmation

A legal expert revealed the "cardinal" Todd Blanche committed as Acting Attorney General that could kneecap his upcoming confirmation hearing.

During a Tuesday appearance on CNN, senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig spoke about Blanche's upcoming hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote on whether to advance his nomination for the permanent role of attorney general.

"I'm sure that much of the focus and attention tomorrow will be on the most recent and most sensational scandals around Todd Blanche," Honig said, pointing in particular to Blanche's signing of Trump's anti-weaponization fund and his handling of the Epstein files.

"But to me, the cardinal sin that Todd Blanche has committed in his year and a half as deputy AG and acting AG is that political weaponization of the DOJ's prosecutorial power," Honig said. "That is a red line that Todd Blanche has crossed time and again."

Honig explained that Blanche has crossed that red line by "overseeing and promoting and defending these bogus criminal investigations."

For Honig, examples of Blanche weaponizing the DOJ's prosecutorial power included the cases against Trump enemies like former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin.

"To me, as a prosecutor, that is the most fundamental abuse of power one can make," Honig said. "So, he's going to have to answer for all of it."

Honig said that far outweighs the creation of the anti-weaponization fund, which critics worried would act as a slush fund for Trump's allies, and Blanche's handling of the Epstein files. He added that it's important those two cases "don't overshadow the more core violations of dereliction of duty."

Disturbing pattern revealed as judge blisters Trump DOJ's 'slush fund': analyst

A judge had a blistering response Monday for President Donald Trump's Department of Justice "slush fund," which a former Florida lawmaker described as a troubling pattern, CNN reported.

Former Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell responded to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in the Southern District of Florida, who had noted that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had signed a settlement document on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants — highlighting that only the Trump administration's interests were represented. CNN anchor Kasie Hunt referred to it as "one of many examples of where the president has tried to use our system to benefit himself in ways that then the legal system has had to scramble to catch up to."

Mucarsel-Powell called out why the pattern was so problematic.

"I think the point here — it's not just about the IRS. It's not just about this one case. It's the pattern that we've seen here, and it's that the executive branch, the president, is trying to use the power of his office to actually negotiate deals to benefit himself," Mucarsel-Powell said.

"And one of the things that the judge says in this case, which I think is very important to keep in mind, is that the court has to be bound by the Constitution," she added. "Congress is bound by the Constitution, the same as the executive [branch]. You can't have a president abuse the power of his office to try to benefit that office for himself. The judge says that as well. So Todd Blanche is going to be facing senators who are going to be questioning whether he's working for the American people or whether he's working for one person in the executive branch, President Donald Trump. That's not the way that these agencies should function. They should be independent, working for the American people, not for the president."

'What happened?' Todd Blanche's former colleague 'disgusted' by his transformation

A former colleague of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that she's "very surprised" and "disgusted" by his "major transformation" under Trump.

During an interview on Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah described how "very upsetting" it is to see who Blanche has become in the Trump administration. She spoke with Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, about her memories of Blanche ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15 to become attorney general.

In 2001, Blanche was a paralegal at the Southern District of New York who "had a very good career," Rocah remembered. She described him as a family man with kids, a "team player," and a "hard worker" who "seemed to be the person doing it all" when Rocah knew him at SDNY.

"He was great. He was going to law school at night while not only working as a paralegal but doing a really good job as a paralegal," Rocah said. "That's high praise. Like, prosecutors, you know, quickly figure out who are the people you want on your team, and he was one of them."

He became Rocah's co-chief over the White Plains division and tried to teach new prosecutors, "and be their supporter and help them learn from mistakes," Rocah said.

Now, she's "shocked" at how Blanche visited Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison and "behaved like a criminal defense lawyer" for her, how he's "comfortable with lying," oversaw career prosecutors marched out of offices "as if they were criminals," negotiated Trump's IRS immunity, and led cases dismissed for vindictive prosecutions.

The "old Todd Blanche" that Rocah knew "would not have met with this person" who he is now, she said.

"There are people who worked with him who are very surprised at a minimum, and many of them, really disgusted by some of the actions that have been taken," Rocah said.

"It's fascinating," Rocah continued. "It's a question people are fascinated by, including me and many of my other former colleagues, of how someone transforms from a person that I could have liked, respected, trusted into someone who is doing things like what is happening now."

Next Week, Todd Blanche Has His Confirmation Hearing. Mimi Rocah Has Some Thoughts About That. by Joyce Vance

A recording of our live video

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Nightmare questions about to crash on Todd Blanche over Trump's 'consigliere': expert

A legal analyst expects Todd Blanche to be confronted with tough questions about President Donald Trump's fixer during his upcoming confirmation hearing.

During an episode of Legal AF, national trial lawyer and strategist Michael Popok said that aside from questions about Blanche's handling of the Epstein files, Trump's pick for attorney general will have to answer for his ties to Trump's personal lawyer and "consigliere," Boris Epshteyn.

"There's a shadowy figure that controls all of Donald Trump's private lawyers and law firms, his battalion of lawyers going after his political enemies in courts, suing baselessly for defamation and even going after his sex abuse victims like E. Jean Carroll," Popok said. "All of those lawyers, whether they're located in Miami or in New York or in Chicago or D.C., are controlled by one person, an advisor to Donald Trump named Boris Epshteyn."

Blanche was Trump's personal defense lawyer before Trump appointed him as acting attorney general. Blanche faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15 to stay on as the nation's top prosecutor.

Popok pointed out that Epshteyn has found himself in the spotlight after the American Bar Association asked a federal judge to release communications involving Steve Bannon and Epshteyn tied to Trump's attacks on law firms.

According to Popok, Epshteyn is "very close" to Blanche. Emil Bove, a Trump-appointed Third Circuit Court of Appeals judge, and Blanche "were recruited by Boris Epshteyn to be the lawyers for Donald Trump" and were assembled into what Popok called a "virtual law firm" that operated as Trump's criminal defense in his New York and federal cases.

"You also have to look at the shadowy figures that are pulling the levers of power behind the scenes," Popok said. "What I'm hoping is much of this information ends up in the briefing books for the U.S. Senators on the [Senate] Judiciary Committee as they go after and cross-examine Todd Blanche."

Trump DOJ stumbles in Epstein files case with 'embarrassing' excuse: legal expert

The Trump Justice Department stumbled in an Jeffrey Epstein files case with an "embarrassing" excuse flagged by a legal expert on Saturday.

In a recent episode of the Legal AF podcast, analyst Michael Popok discussed the DOJ's response to an injunction requiring it to translate foreign-language documents in the Epstein files. The injunction stems from journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit demanding translation and a published redaction log, which has seen early success, Popok noted.

"It's not like the World Cup. It's not like there's 48 different countries of languages," Popok said. "What is it? Four or five languages. We know who was involved in the Epstein scandal. Maybe French, maybe Italian, certainly English, not a foreign language, but you know the way the Brits speak."

Even though the DOJ responded to a judge's injunction "in the nick of time," it refused to translate parts of the Epstein files, saying reviewers "could not translate it on the fly," according to Popok.

"They could use an app, an AI app, that would do the initial cut of translation," Popok said. "It's embarrassing that they think they can get away with this."

Popok summed up the DOJ's response as "you're not getting it, judge. We're not translating it." However, Popok added that the judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, "doesn't suffer fools" and predicted that he'll be "p----- off" with the DOJ's excuse for not complying with the injunction.

"You're gonna see it in his next order," Popok said. "Remember we're talking about Epstein survivors and sexual abuse victims, many of them who were girls at the time."

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'Ingratitude!' Hegseth lashes out at 'ingrates' burying Trump's top officials in boos

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was furious as demonstrators overpowered Trump administration officials speaking to a crowd of National Guard members on Thursday.

Hegseth, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Steven Nordhaus were speaking to the group of about 200 guard members ahead of the Fourth of July at Meridian Hill Park when the sounds of booing and sirens started to drown out the speeches.

"This background noise this morning is perfect," Hegseth said. "It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them."

Pete Hegseth: "This background noise is perfect. It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them." pic.twitter.com/aWt5ciuRG3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2026

Jeers and sirens drown out Stephen Miller during his DC National Guard speech

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was booed and disrupted by protesters while speaking to National Guard members in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Miller was speaking with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Nordhaus at Meridian Hill Park, where they were hosting a DC Safe & Beautiful Task Force Ceremony with about 200 National Guardsmen, according to CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky.

Video footage captured Miller trying to speak over the sound of chanting and sirens.

The internet mocked Miller for the embarrassing moment.

"Incredible how this white supremacist is the worst possible example of white supremacy," writer and podcaster Hemant Mehta posted on X.

"Ha! Stephen Miller deserves it!" Political commentator Lucas Sanders wrote on X.

"I love this for Stephen Miller," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.

"Temu Goebbels is at it again, this time in front of a DC public he swears are leftist criminals," political commentator Anna Baxter wrote on Bluesky.

i love this for Stephen Miller pic.twitter.com/yD2KmstPjg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 2, 2026

DOJ whistleblower urges Senate to probe whether Todd Blanche dodged records laws

A Department of Justice whistleblower is pressing the Senate to investigate Trump's nominee for Attorney General.

In a Wednesday piece, fired DOJ attorney Liz Oyer shared a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee where she sounded the alarm about absent records related to her termination. She urged the Senate to probe Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is waiting for confirmation to take the role full-time.

"I respectfully suggest that this Committee should probe whether Mr. Blanche has complied with the Federal Records Act or is using forms of communication that evade oversight," Oyer wrote in a letter that detailed how she can't find documents she says should exist per federal law.

Oyer was fired after refusing to skip a vetting process to reinstate actor Mel Gibson's right to own a gun, which was stripped after his domestic violence conviction. She sought documents related to her firing through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that is now in litigation, but she warned the Senate committee that the DOJ denied that they exist.

"The Department has claimed that Mr. Blanche's office has no documents—none—related to my firing despite the fact that Mr. Blanche himself dismissed me," Oyer wrote. "DOJ FOIA staff claim that they searched Mr. Blanche's files and found nothing—not a single page. They didn't even find the memo he signed firing me in his files."

She wrote, "This raises serious questions about what channels of communications Mr. Blanche is using to conduct official DOJ business; where (or whether) he is preserving records required by federal law; and whether he is telling the truth about documents in his possession, custody or control."

Oyer also noted that former Attorney General Pam Bondi "rarely" used her official DOJ email, and cited reporting by the New York Times and The Atlantic about how senior officials used auto-deleting Signal chats.

Todd Blanche faces 'unusual' and 'unique' complaint that may actually stick: ex-prosecutor

One hundred and one former judges have asked the New York State Bar to investigate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for ethics violations — and legal experts say this complaint is different from the ones that went nowhere against his predecessors.

The complaint, filed by Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, targets Blanche on three fronts: his role in the Trump v. IRS settlement, his use of DOJ authority to pursue political enemies of his former client Donald Trump, and his handling of the Epstein files release, including a Ghislaine Maxwell interview that raised conflict-of-interest concerns.

Bar complaints against sitting attorneys general are not new. Similar referrals against Eric Holder, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, and Pam Bondi all fizzled. But legal analyst Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney, argues the Blanche complaint is different in two key ways: the allegations are unusually serious, and the complaint comes before he has even been confirmed to the position.

"The American public deserves an Attorney General who serves the interests of the Nation, and not those of a single man," the complaint states.

Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund told Vance that Blanche "has fallen short again and again with the most serious consequences for vulnerable individuals and our nation."

Adding urgency is the fact that the DOJ earlier this year proposed a rule that would let the attorney general suspend state bar proceedings against current or former DOJ lawyers if an internal investigation is open. Critics called it a naked attempt to shield DOJ attorneys from outside accountability. The internal watchdog system at DOJ, they note, has effectively been dismantled under Trump.

Meanwhile, CNN reported this week that Trump handed Blanche a stack of printed news articles with the word "Treason" written in Sharpie, personally pushing him to subpoena journalists at the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. DOJ later withdrew those subpoenas.

Blanche still faces a Senate confirmation hearing, where accountability could also come — but the New York bar may get there first.